Neighborhood Watch???

[CANOPY SAM]

That's what I'm talkin' about, M18, MuskyBuck, and BA! Watch, listen, and take notes. If there's obviously something amiss call the CO's.

I completely agree. I wouldn't even presume to ask the average citizen to go around checking people's livewells or buckets. In some cases that could be downright dangerous.

I'm only suggesting a group of dedicated volunteers that "watch", from a distance, and report obvious violations. If the general public knew there were a large group of plain clothed civilians out there keeping an eye on things when no CO's were around, I feel we could potentially decrease the number of game and fish violations, and possibly bust some of these game hogs.

We wouldn't have authority to DO anything, except write down license plate numbers, and boat license numbers, where bait piles are, etc.

MuskyBuck. The scenario you describe is happening all over the place right now. I firmly believe that's why the DNR is having such a hard time getting their arms around the true numbers of deer in any given area. People are no doubt taking animals, either not tagging them, or not registering them, and carrying licenses over to other seasons, or using them on multiple deer.

Keep doing this in any given area and the total deer harvest data can be WAY off.

That's where this discussion started. The guy that shot the world record eight-point had one tag. He chose to not tag the first two deer he bagged, and "save" his one tag for the trophy. Could we have stopped this guy from doing what he did with more people listening and watching in the field, maybe not, but maybe?

If he knew he was staring at a mandatory $10K fine for harvesting illegal big game would he have reconsidered doing what he did? Almost certainly.

What's really sad is this guy might have been able to bag this deer legally if he'd have played his cards right.

It's certainly possible that the guys you're referring to are legal, if it's a management or intensive harvest zone. They may have taken all females during rifle season, and be using their original buck (muzzy) tags in this season. There are enough tags available in many areas to hunt all seasons, and with party hunting laws, one can pretty easily hunt from Sept. into Dec. if there are family or friends tags unfilled.

If a volunteer group of concerned citizens isn't the right idea, then how might we go about lobbying for greatly increased fines and punishment for game and fish violations?

By the way, Arctic, you'd wanna be careful about messing with a bait pile before deer rifle season. There may be a legally marked bear bait station you come across, and there's be no need to ruin someone's legal bear hunt. I've had it happen to me, with very clearly marked stations. Bear hunters often work very hard to bait their station. If they're doing everything on the up and up, there's absolutely nothing more frustrating than having someone ruin all your hard work.

[Arctic]

I understand your point about messing with bait piles, but am very aware of the difference between legally baiting for bears (which I totally support) and an illegal pile of oats or corn near a tree stand the week before deer season. Also, as you mention, a legal bear bait pile is marked, as required by law.

Back to your original point, I think it is the DUTY of every sportsman to keep his eye out for illegal hunting, fishing, and ATV use and report it. The future of our outdoor sports depends on it!

[Musky Buck]

It is time to not look the other way. We are certainly short man power. The biggest issues seem to come at rifle time so I wish we could borrow CO's from other states or deputy sheriff's for the rifle season to help police the area(s). Remember I wish. And remember there's a lot of us that never get checked so any violators are figuring they're taking a very low risk of being caught. Give an inch and they'll take a mile. Musky 18 money talks and steeper fines would help to eliminate the marginal cheaters, then the CO's could target the bigger fish. I think a case by case basis of losing all hunting or fishing priviledges in our state for life might help.

[skolfoppa]

I am all for the loss of lifetime priveledges for those that knowingly break game laws. Taking/confiscating firearms is not enough a deterrent for many of these yahoos. I think the names of those individuals who are caught need to be published on a DNR site so we know individuals and their tendencies to poach. Why can't the TIP rewards be increased as well? If it can't be an ethical decision, make it a financial decision to turn in your "buddy". Now I'm all fired up. Skol.